NEW YORK -- After CC Sabathia detailed the latest maintenance to keep his right knee functional -- an injection of platelet-rich plasma plus a lubricant that eases his discomfort -- he was asked about the state of the New York Yankees' rotation in the aftermath of the trade-deadline decisions by general manager Brian Cashman.
The Yankees inquired on Marcus Stroman, Trevor Bauer, Robbie Ray, Madison Bumgarner and others, and could not find a common universe with the sellers in determining trade valuation. The Blue Jays preferred an offer from the Mets for Stroman. The Indians and Yankees stopped talking once the Reds and Padres both put together nice packages to offer for Bauer. The Giants pulled Bumgarner back from the marketplace after a three-week hot streak. The Diamondbacks' asking price for Ray was worthy of a Cy Young candidate, when some teams view him as less than that.
As a result, the Yankees didn't add a starting pitcher, and Cashman wound up on the back page of the New York Post Photoshopped as a trade deadline zombie.
What that means for the Yankees, as the ramification dominoes fall from last week's dealmaking, is that there will be a two-month search for rotation heroes who might match up against the Astros' monster rotation of Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke and Wade Miley -- in the same way that other NBA teams spent the past few years figuring out how to beat Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
"I'm good with it," Sabathia said. "I think we definitely have the talent and the arms to get it done."
Maybe that will be Domingo German, who stopped a streaking Red Sox team last Sunday, reversing Boston's momentum, and beat the Sox again Saturday. Maybe it will be James Paxton, who threw his curveball more Friday -- more than in all but two of his 2019 starts -- and shut down the Red Sox after surrendering his usual first-inning long ball. Maybe it will be Masahiro Tanaka, or J.A. Happ, who starts Sunday night in search of better command. Maybe Luis Severino, who is expected to throw off a mound in the week ahead as he continues his season-long injury rehab and is now an intriguing wild card. Maybe two of the starters will emerge and Aaron Boone will dig deep into his bullpen in Game 3 with an opener.
As Sabathia talked, you got the sense that this team's rotation is in the early stages of developing a massive chip on its collective shoulder, about how nobody thinks its rotation is good enough.
Some of the other falling dominoes from the trade market action:
• Zack Greinke and the Astros: In Greinke's past four postseason appearances, in 2015 and 2017, he gave up 12 runs in 21⅔ innings, and the perception among rival evaluators is that he was basically gassed by the time he reached October, because of his heavy workload during the regular season. In 2015, he threw 222⅔ innings for the Dodgers, and in 2017 he piled up 202⅓ innings.
Greinke, 35, already has 146 innings this year, the sixth most in the majors. Because the Astros have a big lead in the AL West and because of the presence of Verlander, Cole, Miley and now Aaron Sanchez, Houston's staff will have the flexibility to rest Greinke over the next eight weeks to keep him as fresh as possible for the games that really matter.
• Marcus Stroman: He's a free agent in the fall of 2020, but it could be worth it for his camp to pursue some kind of long-term deal before then because he has exceptional negotiating leverage right now. The Mets are working under high scrutiny because of their decision to be buyers instead of sellers at the deadline in the face of long odds to reach the postseason.
Stroman has been held up as the centerpiece of their current big-picture plan -- the starting pitcher and Long Island native who will be the wingman to Jacob deGrom moving forward, the guy who can propel the win-now Mets program. There is inherent pressure on the Mets to sign Stroman, to get him off the board and to help cover for a thinned farm system.
• Those Mets: They are stacked with starting pitching for the stretch drive after adding Stroman and keeping Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard, but when the season is over they will face some difficult financial choices unless ownership grows the payroll markedly.
DeGrom 's salary will climb from $9 million this year to $25 million in 2020. Edwin Diaz is making $607,420 this season, but probably will earn north of $7 million next season after his first pass through arbitration. Syndergaard earns $6 million in 2019, and will get a hefty raise, as will Stroman, who is making $7.4 million; both are eligible for arbitration again. And if the Mets want to present Wheeler with a qualifying offer, they'll have to risk him accepting -- and sources say the QO is expected to rise, to between $18 million and $19 million.
The Mets have some dollars coming off the board, like Todd Frazier 's $9 million salary. But if the team intends to cling to its starting pitching as the club's anchor, ownership will have to pay this group somewhere in the range of $65 million to $75 million. If the Mets don't retain Syndergaard and Wheeler -- if they let Wheeler go into free agency without a qualifying offer, and they trade Syndergaard, then somebody needs to explain why the team didn't flip them a few days ago to take advantage of their trade value and restock a farm system depleted by these win-now moves.
• The San Diego Padres: They maintained their high asking price on Kirby Yates, as rival executives predicted, and traded for a more athletic, all-around outfielder in Taylor Trammell in their three-team deal with the Indians and Reds. The Padres could still use an experienced front man for their young and developing rotation, and presumably that will be San Diego's primary focus this winter. The Padres could get very ambitious in free agency, as they were last winter, and pursue Cole, a native Californian who is likely to be the highest-paid starting pitcher in the open market, or perhaps they'll follow up on their Syndergaard trade conversations with the Mets.
• The Cincinnati Reds: The front end of the Cincinnati rotation is set for 2020, with Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Bauer and Anthony DeSclafani -- and with Bauer set to get a big raise in arbitration and earn $18 million to $20 million, the Reds might have to be creative to upgrade the offense. The Reds might need a shortstop, a second baseman and a veteran outfielder.
The salary of closer Raisel Iglesias will climb from $6 million to $9 million, and if some payroll management is needed, they could try to flip the 29-year-old Iglesias and turn over the late innings even more so to Michael Lorenzen and Amir Garrett.
Joey Votto, the team's signature star, is under contract for four more seasons at $25 million annually, plus an option year for 2024 (and a $7 million buyout).
• The Los Angeles Dodgers: Part of the reason why L.A. is the most dominant NL team is because of the front office's refusal to part with its best prospects in recent years -- Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler and others. The decision to not include Gavin Lux in any offer for Pirates lefty Felipe Vazquez should be viewed through that prism.
But without a Vazquez, a Brad Hand or a Diaz, the Dodgers' great challenge is to strengthen its seventh- and eighth-inning relief before the postseason begins. Dustin May might be part of that solution, and Julio Urias could continue to gain bullpen preeminence. And the circumstances might require a more aggressive use of starting pitchers in relief roles in late October.
• The Cleveland Indians: Moving Bauer enables the Indians to get out in front of a salary crunch next winter. But Francisco Lindor will go through arbitration for the second time and will get a big raise over his $10.8 million salary, and executives with other teams speculate that with Lindor set to be eligible for free agency in the fall of 2021, Cleveland could dangle him in the trade market this winter.
News from around the major leagues
With each passing day, it appears that Scott Boras will be the dominant figure of the offseason. Anthony Rendon has not signed an extension with Washington, and is set to become the most prominent free-agent position player. Cole is a Boras client. J.D. Martinez, who could opt out of his contract with the Red Sox after this year, is a Boras client. Dallas Keuchel, a Boras client, will go back into the open market after playing for the Braves on a one-year deal in 2019. The Dodgers' Hyun-Jin Ryu, having the best season of his career as he heads into free agency, is a Boras client.
• As Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe noted on Twitter on Saturday, the Red Sox hitters -- who have usually had the best walk-to-strikeout ratio in MLB -- had five walks and 42 strikeouts over a four-game stretch, from Wednesday through Game 1 of the doubleheader Saturday. No wonder the players held a team meeting.
• From Statcast: Boston third baseman Rafael Devers leads the majors in batted balls hit at 95-plus mph -- by far. Going into the weekend, he had 108 hits mashed at 95-plus mph, and Bellinger was second, with 85 hits.
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is dispelling the Home Run Derby myth by getting hot after participating in the midseason event. Since the All-Star break, he's hitting .346 with a .407 OBP, and five homers and only 11 strikeouts in 78 at-bats. "This is what we've all been waiting for," one evaluator said.
Baseball Tonight podcast
Friday: Boog Sciambi on the pointed suspensions rendered by MLB and the complicated relationship between Bauer and the Indians; Jessica Mendoza with some insight on the Mets' thinking; Rena Wong and the Friday Bleacher tweets.
Thursday: David Schoenfield and Sarah Langs dig into the moves made on trade deadline day.
Wednesday: Karl Ravech on the Pirates-Reds brawl, and the Bauer trade; Langs and The Numbers Game; this week's Power 10.
Tuesday: A fun conversation with Stevie Wilkerson about his save, the first for a position player in big league history; Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Paul Hembekides brings the Numbers, and Stroman discusses his move to the Mets.
Monday: Tim Kurkjian on Bauer's baseball heave and the Stroman deal; an interview with Red Sox manager Alex Cora; Todd Radom's weekly quiz and cap talk.